Dr. Phil to feature video game violence

I recently just returned to my regular schedule of sifting through Internet stories, finally on the rebound from this awful cold I've had, and find that Dr. Phil will be taping a show this Thursday about videogame violence with a so far unnamed guest appearance of a "game violence specialist." It is unknown when this episode will air, but I'll watch it, find it on YouTube, or blow the dust off the VCR and record it.

Since this taping was announced (I heard about it from GamePolitics), concerned gamers have been talking about it with some apprehension and plenty of disgust, which is understandable because Dr. Phil was among the first to point fingers at videogames as the cause of the Virginia Tech Massacre (only to be beaten out by the insidiously evil Jack Thompson).

What I find most interesting (and frightening) about this upcoming show is GamerDad was asked to appear as a guest. However, as he explained he didn't believe videogames caused violence, the show lost interest. (Actual quote from GamerDad can be found in the comments on the small article about Dr. Phil's taping)

This makes me believe the argument Dr. Phil is going to present will be a teeeeensy bit skewed and one-sided.

Dr. Phil has made other comments on violent videogames before on his website here. Some of the advice he gives is surprisingly sound, like encouraging parents to play with their kids, read beyond the ESRB ratings, talking with your child about what they're playing, and going online to do further investigation on certain games.

However, he still makes the claim that

According the American Psychological Association, violent video games can increase children's aggression.

Proponents of the link between videogames and violence always say this, but never show you the study that was done to prove this, which is a sketchy way to build an argument at best.

No studies have actually drawn a direct causal link between games and violence (it usually has been compared to the same way the "causal link" between lung cancer and smoking are made).

It will be interesting to see how this episode plays out. Just remember, so far there is no direct causal link between games and violence and there is no such occupation as a "game violence specialist."